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Rape - A Comparison of Group Offences and Lone Assaults

NCJ Number
76962
Journal
Medicine Science and the Law Volume: 21 Issue: 1 Dated: (January 1981) Pages: 25-30
Author(s)
R Wright; D J West
Date Published
1981
Length
6 pages
Annotation
This English study examines the characteristics of group rapes and compares these with findings concerning individual assaults.
Abstract
The sample comprised all incidents that the police had recorded as 'genuine' or attempted rapes in six English counties from 1972 through 1976. Of a total of 297 assaults (209 rapes and 88 attempts), single attackers committed 258 and from 2 to 7 assailants attacked 39 victims. The data on suspects were limited to those apprehended: of 240 assailants in solitary assaults, 204 were apprehended and of the 104 assailants in the group assaults, 99 were arrested. Most group and individual offenses occurred at night and towards the end of the week. In addition, in the majority of offenses both the suspect and victim knew each other and often had met just prior to the offense in an urban, outdoor setting. In both kinds of attacks, about one-third of the suspects had been drinking heavily beforehand. The proportion of suspects and victims who were under 21 years of age was significantly greater in group attacks. The suspects in such attacks includedl a higher proportion of nonwhites, a smaller proportion with a previous conviction for a sex offense, and none with a known history of psychiatric treatment. The victims in group offenses were more likely to have been drinking beforehand and more likely to sustain minor injuries than victims of solitary assaults. When violence occurred in attacks by individuals, it was usually in response to escalating victim resistance, but violence in group attacks was almost invariably gratuitous. Furthermore, group assailants more often appeared to commit their crimes in a relatively lighthearted manner, seemingly without appreciation of their own responsibility in the group's actions. Data tables and a six-item reference list are included.

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